Escaping the Demons
by Helvettica
Summary: What if Richie left with Kate and Seth instead of Santanico? Kate/Richie. Very much AU, starts where Season 1 ends. Rated M for cursing and violence.
1. Chapter 1: Fight

**Chapter 1: Fight**

It had become painfully clear that Mexicans were _not_ good at soundproofing their houses.

Kate sighed and covered her right ear with a pillow, trying to block out the sound of the Gecko brothers yelling at each other in the next room. The left side of her face was pressed against a grey bottom sheet of a motel bed that smelled like bleach. She was feeling groggy, having just woken up from a nightmare full of fangs, stakes and blood. And fighting.

"I just don't fucking get why you had to come along!"

"What? It was the goddamn plan from the very beginning!"

"That was _before_ you turned into a blood-sucking monster!"

"I was going to die. How many times do I have to explain it to you?"

"You _did_ die, you son of a bitch!"

Ever since their arrival at a gloomy Mexican motel in the middle of nowhere, Richard and Seth Gecko had been fighting. It was only verbal (thank God) but only because Seth didn't want to be closer than five feet to his brother. And Richie… well, Kate guessed he was afraid he would transform and bite someone, so he too kept his distance. Luckily he hadn't shown any signs of turning back into a culebra, which made Kate extremely happy.

It had been only three days since they'd left Titty Twister but to Kate it felt like forever. The first two days had been spent driving across the desert, trying to get as far as they could from the ancient temple. They had made quick stops at random bars and gas stations but left as soon as they had bought something to eat and drink. For Seth it meant bottles of cheap silver tequila that he chugged down while driving like a maniac. Kate could have offered to take the wheel but she was simply too tired to care. Besides, there was really nothing they could crash into. Only sand and cactuses.

Richie hadn't drunk or eaten anything, but he kept chain-smoking like there was no tomorrow. Kate wasn't sure if he even ate normal people food anymore. Maybe he only craved for blood. She hadn't dared to ask because she was almost sure Richie didn't even know himself.

After two long days and an even longer night of driving, Richie had spotted a motel in the distance (his vision had gotten a lot better now that he wasn't a human anymore) and they decided it was time make a longer stop and plan ahead the continuation of their trip.

Seth had parked the car behind the motel reception and ushered Kate to go "handle the business" because apparently she was the least suspicious looking of the trio. The amount of dried blood on her clothes told a different story but she went anyway. The receptionist was an old Mexican lady who had hardly even looked at her and was seemingly uninterested to know if the deep red stuff on her was blood or chili sauce. So Kate had uttered a few words in her best Spanish and managed to get a two-room condo for them.

The sun was setting when they finally got inside. Kate had practically crawled to the nearest bed and fallen on it, feeling exhausted. She had closed her eyes ready to pass out, wishing that the sleep would come fast and all the nasty thoughts in her head would stop torturing her, if only for a couple of hours.

But then they had started it.

"I'm just so sick of all this! I was supposed to be somewhere decent by now – filthy rich and _without_ a fucking vampire bitch wanting to chase me down!"

"Then you'll be pleased to hear that _you're not the one she's after_."

"That's exactly my point! You're the reason why every one of us is fucked. Why should I be the one suffering from it? Tell me, Richard. I'm dying to know!"

Kate threw a light blanket off her legs and sat up in the bed. She didn't know the time but she figured it was almost dawn. Soft red light peeked through the wrinkly flower curtains and Kate could feel the air getting hot again. How long had she slept? She couldn't remember when Richie and Seth's angry voices had faded into a restless sleep. Maybe five hours ago? It felt like she had been asleep for two seconds. It was unfair how many nightmares could fit into such a short sleep.

"We were in this together. From the beginning."

"Well I changed my mind. I'm fucking done with you."

"You don't mean that."

Kate could hear Richie was getting tired. She didn't know whether it was from the constant yelling or the first rays of the sun, but his voice had definitely lost its edge already. She had learnt during their road trip that Richie wasn't really allergic to the sun like "normal" vampires were, but he got drowsy and wanted to be left alone. She herself hadn't talked much, none of them had. It became obvious now that the Geckos had been just saving themselves for one ridiculously big argument.

Kate's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door slamming. Then it became silent. She got up and walked to the bathroom. The water from the tap was brownish and smelled like iron but she sprinkled some of it on her face anyways. She lifted her gaze to meet her own eyes in the cracked mirror. They looked dead tired with dark circles around them. Her cheeks looked narrower as if she had suddenly grown up and lost all the remains of baby fat. Was she still seventeen? She certainly didn't feel like it.

After finishing with her self-examination, Kate returned to the room. She noticed the door was ajar.

"Seth?" she asked and was startled to hear how small her voice sounded. No one answered so she walked up to the door and opened it. There was a short hallway and a kitchenette in between the two rooms. Both the front door and the door to the second room were closed. She knocked on the room's door. No answer.

Suddenly she felt anxious. She was pretty sure Seth had been the one slamming the front door. He must have left somewhere. Which meant she was left alone with Richie – for the first time since… _that_. She hadn't exchanged a word with him in days, and she still wasn't ready to face him after what happened between them in the backroom of Titty Twister. It felt too weird. And her mind was occupied with other things anyway. There was no room for hazy memories of the two of them _kissing_, for God's sake.

She hesitated, wanting to just go back to her own room and leave him be. But something made her put her hand on the doorknob and turn.

"Richie?" she said entering the room. It was similar to the other but it had two beds instead of one.

Richie was sitting on the bed that was closer to the door, his back facing her. He had taken off both his jacket and shirt, wearing only a white wife-beater.

"Where did Seth go?" Kate asked when he didn't say anything or acknowledge her presence in any way.

"How should I know?" he answered quietly, still not facing her.

"I don't know, I just thought maybe you would…" Kate let her voice die. She truly didn't know why she bothered. She should have just let Richie be alone. She started to turn around, intending to leave and go back to her own room and her own miserable state of all-feelings-denied.

"Kate. Wait."

Kate stopped in her tracks and looked back. Richie had stood up and was standing there, a bed between them, looking… sad? His blue eyes glittered in the sun, bluer than ever now that he wasn't wearing his glasses anymore. They looked reddish and watery, like they hurt from the light (they probably did).

"Yeah?" Kate asked hesitantly not knowing what to expect. She averted her eyes from Richie's, scared of what he might see in them like he always did. He still had that "I can see straight to your soul" thing going on. It felt even more empowering now.

"Are you alright?"

Richie's question was so simple and so unlikely heartfelt coming from him that Kate felt slightly choked for a bit. She could feel the back of her eyes burn and blinked rapidly. It was so stupid to get emotional now after many successful days of not feeling anything besides self-blame and tiredness. And in front of Richie of all people (well, out of him and Seth, she would have chosen the latter).

Kate sniffed and tried to rub her eyes nonchalantly but failed miserably. And suddenly Richie was right before her, looming over dark and tall, smelling like cigarettes and sweat and death.

"Shh, don't cry," he said in a low, soothing voice, but to Kate it was nearly as comforting as the thought of her dad bleeding to death in her hands. Richie's presence felt intimidating and strange and nothing like it did before – when they had first met at the pool or sat together in the backroom of Titty Twister, his lips touching hers. She was scared of him for the first time.

Richie must have seen that because his eyes darkened and he lowered his hand that was about to touch her shoulder. Kate could feel a single tear run down her cheek. It felt cold.

She kept her eyes lowered, looking straight through Richie's chest only to realize how unmoving it had become without the beating of his heart. He stood there like a frozen statue, unsettling and scary, and suddenly all Kate wanted to do was to run as far as she could.

But she couldn't make herself move and the minutes grew longer and Richie didn't say anything or do anything, and so they just stood there.

The moment was broken when the front door was opened and Seth stormed inside, almost slamming into Kate. Richie flinched like a kid caught doing something inappropriate and backed off, averting his eyes. Kate could have yelled at him for acting so guilty. Seth looked from her to Richie and back, his expression turning angry.

"What the fuck did you do?" Seth growled at Richie and grabbed Kate by her arm. She must have looked pretty devastated for Seth to act so protective all of sudden.

"Nothing, I swear!" Richie said and raised both of his hands up as a sign of surrendering.

"You keep your hands off her," Seth barked and started pulling Kate with him. His grip on her arm tightened.

"Seth, you're hurting me," she pleaded and tried to yank her arm free.

"You heard what she said, let her go," Richie said and stepped closer.

"Stay away, Richard," Seth warned, then pulled a sharpened wooden stake out of his jacket's inner pocket and pointed it at Richie, still not letting go of Kate's arm. "Or I'll poke you a few extra holes."

"You think I'd do something to her, huh? Like I didn't have a chance before?" Richie scoffed eyes full of fire. Kate started to feel ridiculous hanging there like a puppet. Her fear was long gone and she could feel the familiar numbness coming back. It gave her much needed courage.

"Just stop, both of you," she sighed and finally managed to pull herself free. She stumbled a little and rubbed her sore arm, looking fiercely at Seth. "I'm so tired of you two fighting all the time."

She glanced at Richie whose expression clearly said _he started_ _it_. She was happy to see he wasn't childish enough to actually voice out his protest.

Still glaring at his brother, Seth hid his stake inside his jacket and crossed his arms across his chest. Kate wondered if Seth had been carrying that thing with him all the time.

"Shouldn't we like… plan what to do next?" Kate suggested. "I mean, we can't stay here forever, can we?"

"I suppose we can't," Seth said, his voice flat.

"She doesn't know we're here," Richie said, staring into nothingness.

"And how do you know that?" Seth demanded.

"'Cause I can feel her thoughts if she's close and I don't feel anything," Richie explained like it made all the sense in the world.

"Oh, right." Seth's voice had a sarcastic edge to it. "So we just go somewhere and wait until you feel her thoughts before running again. Yeah, sounds like a fucking perfect plan to me."

"What else do you want me to do?" Richie asked through his teeth.

"I want you to get lost so Kate so I can go on living our lives – which, by the way, we still have – and you can go fuck your vampire bitch for all I care."

"Seth! Stop!" Kate almost yelled before Seth could do any more damage. "That doesn't help!"

"She's right, Seth," Richie agreed and looked into her eyes. She blinked.

"I think we should just calm down and… make a peace. For a while at least," Kate said hesitantly. "And if things are like… like Richie said, then we're not in danger yet."

"Okay, let's be civilized from now on. Like Kate says," Seth said, walking to the bed and slumping on it heavily. He ran his hand through his sleek hair and looked at Richie and Kate expectantly. "Any brilliant ideas?"

Kate's head felt empty. They didn't really expect her to come up with anything, did they? They were the ones praising themselves to be the masters of planning, being infamous bank robbers and all. She was just a girl who knew nothing, had nothing. She glanced at Richie who was looking at the floor like it was the most interesting thing ever. Seth raised his eyebrows.

"Fine. I say we kill her," he blurted. "That's how we get rid of her, once and for all."

Richie let out a frustrated sigh. "You can't just kill her, Seth. She's basically immortal now."

"And I thank _you_ for it."

"Seth, please," Kate pleaded and turned to look at Richie. "Are you sure she's even looking for you?"

"She wants to… find me," Richie said hesitantly. "But I don't know what she wants from me."

"Isn't that pretty obvious? She wants you as her boy toy! She wants you to fuck her, _looong and deeeep_."

"It's nice how seriously you take this, Seth."

"Well, she's not my problem."

"Yeah? Like nothing is your ever problem, you insolent bas–"

"_STOP IT!_"

Kate had finally had it. She was shaking from anger or exhaustion (or both), tired of sharing the space with two of the most obnoxious persons she had ever had a chance to meet. She was tired and pissed off and sad, but there was nobody to care about it. What had she been thinking when she left with the Geckos? Had she thought it would be pure pleasure, traveling with two murderers? _They_ were the reason why she was alone.

Before Richie and Seth had time to react, Kate had stormed out of the room and out of the condo, slamming the door behind her so hard the windows tinkled.

**A/N:** So there you have it. I think it's pretty obvious I didn't like the way things went in the end of the Season 1 so I created my own interpretation of what could happen next... Tell me what you think! P.S. I also want to thank my beta, **DevynQ**, who's been doing a great job.


	2. Chapter 2: Retreat

**Chapter 2: Retreat**

Kate took long strides not even looking where she was going until she was out of breath, the sun burning on her back. She stopped and took a couple of deep breaths before examining her surroundings. She had walked into a little town (or what used to be a town). She looked back and could see the motel in the distance, then decided it was still too close to her liking and started walking again.

The houses were the typical Mexican type with rust colored plaster and white details. There were some bars and a small grocery store that looked like it had seen its better days about fifty years ago. Kate couldn't see any people but she figured the hour was still early. She continued walking until she came across a small Catholic graveyard. It had some nice trees surrounding the graves and Kate suddenly realized how badly she was yearning for a shadow. She chose a place under a big pecan tree and sat on the dry grass, careful not to rest her legs on anyone's grave. She leaned her back against the tree and closed her eyes, just for a moment…

She was awakened by someone poking her right leg. She snapped her eyes open and looked up noticing a middle-aged woman kneeling down beside her. She said something in Spanish.

"Sorry?" Kate mumbled sleepily and sat up straighter.

"I was asking what you do there, little girl," the woman said in broken English and smiled at her. She was short and round and had a light blue dress with dandelions on it. Her eyes were dark and full of motherly warmth.

"I was just… sleeping," Kate said awkwardly and felt a blush creeping to her cheeks. She had no idea how long she had slept, but the sun was already high in the sky. She was just starting to remember why she was sleeping in the middle of a graveyard. Were Richie and Seth looking for her already?

"You not find a place to sleep elsewhere but with the dead, silly girl?" the woman laughed, and offered a hand to Kate, helping her up.

"I was really tired," Kate mumbled, feeling embarrassed. The woman smiled at her pleasantly, but her expression turned shocked when she saw Kate's clothes.

"What happened to you! You kill a chicken with bare hands?"

"Uh," Kate said, trying to think of something, something believable...

"Very annoying when that happens. So much blood in a small bird," the woman continued and let out a hearty laugh. "Come on. I give you new clothes. You cannot go around the town like that."

"You don't have to do that," Kate said quickly, but the woman tsk'ed.

"We take care of people in this town. Even you Americanos," she said matter-of-factly and started to walk way. Kate had no choice but to follow her.

The town seemed a lot livelier now with people sitting in front of shops and bars and children running around. The woman walked in front of Kate, occasionally saying _hola_ to someone on the street or stopping by to ruffle a child's hair before continuing. Kate tried to keep up, not looking anyone in the eye and covering her bloodied shirt with her arms.

They soon arrived in front of the nicest looking house Kate had ever seen. It was painted bright yellow and had white wooden ornaments. There were pots filled with colorful flowers on the both sides of the stairway. The woman climbed up the stairs and opened the creaky front door.

"Come, come," the woman ushered and beckoned Kate to come inside.

The house was nice on the inside as well. There was a cozy kitchen and a small seating area with colorful chairs and an old TV. On the opposite wall there were three doors, most likely leading to bedrooms and a bathroom. The air smelled like freshly cut herbs and lime and spices. Kate inhaled deeply.

"Just a moment," the woman said and disappeared to the room on the left. She soon came back carrying a white bundle of clothes.

"This maybe fit you. It is my daughter's. She is only fourteen but a lot more tall than you," the woman fussed, and showed Kate a white linen dress with red embroidery around the neckline.

"I can't take it," Kate protested weakly. The dress was simply too beautiful to give away to a stranger.

"Of course you can. Marisol not want to wear this anymore. She says the dress is too _long_," the woman snorted, rolling her eyes. "To her, it needs to be _this_ short." The woman poked Kate's leg just below her hip and laughed.

"Okay," Kate said. "Thank you so much."

"_De nada_, silly girl. But first you shower or the dress becomes as dirty as you!"

After a quick shower in a tiny bathroom, Kate dressed up in the white dress and dried her hair in a towel. She looked at herself in the mirror hanging on the bathroom door and was pleased to see the dress fit her perfectly. It actually made her look like… a grown woman instead of a girl.

She smiled at her reflection and turned to collect her old clothes when something caught her eye. There was a necklace with a small wooden amulet hanging on the wall next to the mirror. Kate stepped closer to examine it and saw the amulet had some sort of face carved into it. It looked like an ugly dog. Or a rat. Not a very sophisticated piece of jewelry to carry around, Kate thought frowning, but she figured it could be just some weird decoration for the bathroom. She gathered her clothes, stepped outside and walked to the living room.

The woman was waiting for her and looked appraisingly at Kate.

"Good. Perfect fit," she said and nodded.

"It's really nice, thank you. I can bring it back to you after I…" Kate started to say but the woman interrupted her.

"No, you keep it. It is yours."

"Thank you," Kate said again because she didn't know what else to say. The woman came up to her and took the old clothes.

"I will throw these away. What is your name, girl?"

"Kate."

"Mm. My name is Paula but everyone calls me Pau."

"It's nice to meet you."

Pau walked back to the kitchen and threw Kate's bloodied clothes in a trash bin. Kate felt weird all of sudden, like Pau had thrown a part of her away. She had been wearing those clothes when her dad…

"Are you hungry, Kate?" Pau asked, interrupting Kate's thoughts. She was hungry and realized it only now. It had been a day since she last ate. She was going to say yes but her stomach answered for her, rumbling loudly. It made Pau laugh.

"I don't want to be a bother," Kate said weakly, feeling embarrassed again.

"Not a bother. I eat anyways at this time," Pau said and waved her hand like she was trying to shoo away an imaginary fly. "It's nice to have company. My husband works long days and Marisol goes to school in a different town. They come home late."

So Kate seated herself in front of the kitchen table and watched Pau cook. She felt at peace, just sitting there and enjoying the sound of Pau humming some Mexican tune. All the things that had happened to her started to seem so far away, like they couldn't reach her here. She could hardly even remember why she was supposed to feel sad.

They set up the table together and Pau served them a generous amount of rice and some sort of meat sauce ("It is called _mole_ here in Mexico," Pau had answered before Kate had time to ask) and fresh fruit for dessert. After they were finished, Pau sighed deeply and muttered something in Spanish. She looked as content as Kate felt. For a while they just sat there, enjoying the silence.

Suddenly there was a sound of a phone ringing and Pau stood up, cursing softly in Spanish.

"Sorry, I will get that," she said and hurried to the room next to the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and the ringing stopped. Kate could hear Pau's muffled voice talking fast but she couldn't make out any words (not like she would have understood them anyway).

After a few minutes, Pau returned to the kitchen.

"I apologize. I work here at home and help people with their problems. They can call me anytime," Pau explained.

"What kind of problems?" Kate asked curiously. She had been wondering what Pau did. She hadn't seemed like a housewife type of a person.

"Ah, just any kind. Mostly when they have a bad relationship. Some even think they are cursed," Pau said lightly and laughed, but Kate could see she wasn't telling the whole story. She suddenly thought about the amulet in the bathroom and wondered if it had something to do with Pau helping "cursed" people. Maybe she was a healer of some sort. Before Kate had time to ask, Pau took a look at the clock on the kitchen wall and said, "_Dios Mío_, it is late! Your parents must worry about you."

"I'm not here with my parents," she hurried to explain but could have hit herself as soon as the words left her mouth.

"Then with who?" Pau asked, looking surprised.

"Ehh…" Kate said, probing her mind to quickly come up with something. "I'm with people who I met a while ago. Some friends."

Well, that was a smooth description of her relationship with the Gecko brothers.

"And your parents know about this?" Pau asked, and squinted her eyes as if to see if Kate lied to her.

"My mom died," Kate said. Then she realized something, for the first time. "And my dad died too. I don't have any parents." It felt weird to say it out loud.

"Poor child," Pau said eyes full of compassion. She reached for Kate's hand across the table and squeezed it. Pau's palm was warm and soft.

"It's okay," Kate said without meaning it, but she knew Pau understood. She could see it in her dark eyes.

"But they care for you, the friends, no?"

Did they? Kate didn't know. Maybe they did, at least a little. They would have left her in Titty Twister if they didn't care about her, right? And Richie… He had felt something for her. She had no idea what it was, but it wasn't just anything. And even though he was different now, maybe there was still something inside him…

"Yes, they care for me," Kate said finally and smiled a little.

"They must miss you then! You better get going before it gets late."

After refusing Kate's offer to clear out the table, Pau saw her to the front door.

"Come back if you need anything, Kate," she said warmly and opened the door for Kate.

"I can't thank you enough," Kate said. The warm wind whirled around her and blew a strand of hair across her face. Pau smoothed it away, laughing her hearty laughter.

"_De nada_, Kate, _de nada_."

**A/N: **This chapter was a little time-out for Kate. :) The Geckos will be back in the next chapter. I want to thank **Running-Wild22** and **VeritasKym** for taking time to write a review! I'll try to update regularly, maybe once a week or so (I'd write faster if I didn't have to go to work everyday xD).


	3. Chapter 3: Whisper

**Chapter 3: Whisper**

Kate left Pau's house feeling content but with a heavy heart. She had forgotten how good some people were after being treated like an ignorant teenager for so long. And Pau was just like her mom – sweet and lovable with a heart full of compassion for strangers. She hoped she could meet her again before they left the town.

She walked the same way she did in the morning and soon reached the motel. She walked up to the door she remembered slamming and stopped in front of it. Could she just walk in? Should she knock? Before she had time to ponder her options, the door opened and she was faced with a very angry looking Seth.

"Where the _hell_ have you been?"

Kate rolled her eyes.

"If you let me in, I'll tell you," she sighed. Seth stepped aside and she entered the room. Only to face an equally angry looking Richie.

"_Where_ the hell have you been?"

Kate couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Both Geckos had an identical look of angry confusion on their faces, and it became even more amusing the longer she looked at them.

"What's so funny?" Seth barked.

"It's just that…" Kate said between giggles. "You make it sound like you actually _cared_ where I have been the whole day."

"Of course we care," Richie said.

"Then why didn't you come look for me?"

"We can't just go walking around. We're wanted for murder, remember?" Seth explained. Kate didn't like his tone, it was like he was talking to a 3-year-old.

"Whatever," she said indifferently, not wanting to give Seth any reason to start arguing again. She sat down on a kitchen stool and looked at Richie and Seth. They were staring back at her, looking like they had just realized something was different but couldn't really point out what.

Finally Seth opened his mouth and said, "So where were you?"

"At Pau's."

"Who the hell is Pau?"

"A woman I met."

"You told her about us?"

"I'm not _completely_ stupid, Seth."

Kate's comment made Richie snigger. Seth looked annoyed for a moment but his frown disappeared quickly and he seemed pleased all of sudden.

"I like this Kate more than the crybaby one," he said grinning. "But I'd advise you to be careful who you make friends with."

Kate snorted. She couldn't believe Seth Gecko was telling her how to choose her company. Seeing how she currently had only two friends – the one being a murderer and the other a socially awkward vampire – the standards for her friendship were not very high.

"Anyway," Seth continued, casually ignoring Kate's sarcastic snort. "Now that you're here, we might as well talk a little of what we're going do next. Richie and I made some plans while you were gone."

Kate raised her eyebrows in surprise. Apparently the Geckos had managed to concentrate on something other than fighting.

She looked expectantly at Seth, who was taking his sweet time going through his pockets, searching for a pack of cigarettes. He found it, and after offering Richie a fag, he took one as well, lit it, and leaned against the kitchen wall. Richie took his place on the other side of the room, avoiding the sun that stretched its rays through the small window next to the front door. He pulled out a lighter and lit his own cig, the flame temporarily illuminating his face. When the light was out, the shadows turned his face into a grey mush, and the only thing Kate could see clearly was the glowing end of the cigarette.

After having sucked a comfortable amount of smoke into his lungs, Seth finally opened his mouth: "We decided we're going to stay here for a while and wait until things are… calmer in the States. And if we run into Richie's vampire bitch, we find a way to get rid of her. For good."

It surely didn't sound like the best scheme ever, but at least they had something to work on instead of just fighting. Kate tried to see how Richie was reacting to the thought of killing Santanico, but he didn't say anything and his face was unreadable in the shadows, so she assumed he had either accepted Seth's plan or hadn't come up with anything better.

Besides, Kate quite liked the town. She didn't mind staying there a bit longer, and leaving wasn't really an option. Whether she liked it or not, the Geckos were her new family, and she had to go with them or be alone. And Kate didn't like the idea of being alone.

"Okay," she answered slowly, not really knowing if Seth was asking her approval.

"Hear that, Richie? She said _yes_," Seth said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Just promise me you won't fight again," she hurried to say, making Seth let out a barky laugh.

"You know we can't promise that," he said. "We Geckos fight like we love."

"Not very well?"

"Very funny, Kate," Seth remarked, and pointed his cigarette at Kate. "You should know a thing or two about the Gecko loving."

The easygoing atmosphere was gone in a second. Kate felt her cheeks burn and she heard Richie having a sudden coughing fit. She was too embarrassed to look at Seth, but she could practically feel his self-satisfied smile. Overprotective Seth was starting to look like a good option compared to this Seth who would apparently _make_ her remember the stuff she was not ready to handle just yet.

"Well, well, well. Isn't this awkward," Seth mocked, glancing from Kate to Richie. "I think this might be my cue to go out and get wasted."

He started to make his leave but was stopped by Richie who, still standing in the shadows, gripped his left forearm. He flinched like Richie's touch was burning him, and for a second Kate was sure he was going to punch his own brother. However, he just froze, and even though Kate could only see his profile, she recognized the same fear she had felt when Richie was standing next to her.

"I don't know what games you're playing," Richie said in a low voice. "But I don't find them very funny."

He pressed his cigarette on the wall next to him, smothering the butt, and blew out a puff of smoke, still keeping his grip on Seth's arm. The temperature of the room seemed to drop.

Suddenly Kate realized something. When Seth had said "we made plans," he had actually meant that _he_ came up with them alone and Richie just agreed because he was like her – he didn't care. The two of them were still fighting. And she knew it would be pointless to intervene, just like it had been in the morning, so she just sat there and watched when Seth yanked his arm free, told his brother to go fuck himself, and stormed out of the door, slamming it behind him.

And so they were alone. Again.

Kate sighed and looked at Richie, who seemed to be staring at her left ear.

"Where do you think he went?" she asked, trying to fill the silence with something.

"Probably where he said he was going. Somewhere to get drunk," Richie answered, his voice surprisingly (or suspiciously) calm.

Kate frowned. Seth had just told her they couldn't go outside. There had to be authorities looking for them. Richie himself didn't seem very concerned, but then again he had supernatural powers such as an ability to turn into a human lizard with fangs. He probably didn't worry about someone trying to handcuff him or shoot him in the leg.

"Don't worry about Seth," Richie said like he had read Kate's thoughts. "He's an asshole but not a careless asshole. He'll come back."

Richie gave his best smile that looked more forced than comforting, but she accepted it with a nod. She examined his face now that the sun was starting to lose its radiance, and the shadows mellowed out, revealing his face. He was still handsome as ever but he also looked tired like he hadn't slept for a year. His hair was messier, and the black suit he usually wore was gone, making him look almost like a normal man. There was a hole in his shirt where he had been shot, and Kate could see a patch of pale, smooth skin. She got a weird feeling in the bottom of her stomach and quickly raised her gaze to meet his.

"It will be dark soon," Richie said, looking straight into Kate's eyes, and it took a while to realize what he was talking about.

"Oh. Yeah. Are you gonna go out or something?" Kate asked quickly, and hoped her cheeks weren't as red as they felt.

"I need to feed."

Well, that was a subtle way to bring it up. Kate had almost managed to forget what he was.

"You're not gonna kill anyone, are you?"

It wasn't a question she wanted to ask, but she asked it anyway. She knew it wasn't likely that Richie would promise her anything, but it was in her nature to give it a try. She had to have some kind of reassurance that there was still something human left inside of him, even though he had always been careful not to show it.

"I'll try not to," he answered, and she knew it was the best she was going to get, so she nodded again. Richie sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Look, Kate," he said, and took a slow step toward her like he was approaching a wild animal he didn't want to scare off. "This is not what it was supposed to be. I know you don't want to be here."

He took another step, keeping his eyes fixed on hers, testing.

"I don't want to be here either. Seth thinks I should have let them kill me."

Another step. Kate felt her heart starting to beat faster, but this time it wasn't from fear.

"But I wasn't strong like your father. I didn't want to go."

Richie was standing so close she could feel the air getting colder around them. The fabric of his dress pants touched her bare left knee lightly, and she could feel goose bumps on her skin. Blood was rushing in her ears so loudly she was sure he could hear it too.

_I didn't want you to go either_, Kate thought, mesmerized by Richie's intense gaze.

He brought his face on the same level with hers, and suddenly he was _so_ close and his eyes were _so_ blue and it was almost too hard to look at them. Kate closed her eyes – just for a second – and she felt something cold touch her left cheek.

"I know," Richie whispered breathlessly into her ear, and she snapped her eyes open.

But the moment was already gone and Richie was standing upright, going through his pockets, looking for more cigarettes. Kate blinked.

"I'll be out all night," he said nonchalantly. He found a cig and put it behind his ear. "Don't go anywhere."

"I… what?" Kate uttered. Her cheek was still tingling from Richie's touch.

"Seth should be back soon," Richie continued, looking at Kate briefly. "Just. Don't go. Anywhere."

Before Kate had time to protest, Richie had opened the door and disappeared outside, slamming the door behind him. _God, we have to stop doing that_, Kate thought, flinching from the loud sound. The sound, however, cleared the confusion in her head, and she was left feeling frustrated. She lifted her hand and felt the place where Richie had touched her. It felt warm. She sighed and rubbed her cheek, trying to brush off the feeling.

She got up, walked to the window and looked outside. Another day was closing in, the sun painting the sky blood-orange red. There was no one to be seen outside, and it made her wonder if anyone else was even staying in the motel. She hoped no one had rented the condo next to theirs – the poor soundproofing most likely didn't leave out anything about who they were and what they were doing in Mexico.

Kate realized it had become really quiet, and she had a sudden feeling she wasn't alone. She looked in the hallway and peeked inside both rooms, but there was no one. She shook her head, scolding herself for acting so skittish. She was probably just tired, having not slept well for days. She decided she might as well go to bed since there was really nothing to do and Richie had specifically told her not to go outside. Besides, she'd rather have nightmares while asleep – at least then she knew they weren't real.

She went into her bedroom, leaving the door open. She stripped off the white dress, not wanting it to wrinkle while she slept, and left her underwear on (which made her realize she needed new ones badly). She lay down on the bed, gathered the blankets up to her chin, and stared at the ceiling, noticing it had brown moldy spots on it. Her lids started to feel heavy, and she closed her eyes, letting sleep take over.

**A/N: **Sorry it took so long to post this chapter! The next one won't take as long, it's almost finished. ;) Again, I want to thank everyone who wrote reviews – they really keep me going! I hope you'll continue following this story.


	4. Chapter 4: Dreamcatcher

**Chapter 4: Dreamcatcher**

_She opened her eyes but saw nothing. It was dark, so dark, and the air was moist and smelled like blood. Her back was aching, and she realized she was lying on something cold and hard. She tried to sit up, but her arms and legs were bound. She started panicking, her heart racing in her ears. She gasped for air, but her breath got stuck in her throat._

_She felt like she was choking. _

_Then there was that sound. The sound of something crawling closer and closer to her. She twisted her neck, trying to see what it was, but it was like she had been blinded. _

"_Who's there?" she gasped, her voice sounding muffled like someone was holding a pillow on her face. Sweat was prickling down her forehead and neck. Or was it blood? Why did everything smell like blood?_

_The sound of crawling was nearing her. Then it was right beside her. She could feel the air around her getting colder._

_She knew that feeling._

"_Richie?" she said, her voice hoarse. "I can't move, Richie!"_

_She could feel a breeze on her face. _

"_Kate," a voice said, hissing like a snake. It didn't sound like Richie, but she knew it was him. It had to be. He had just touched her cheek like before. _

"_Help me, Richie," she pleaded. _

"_Shh, don't cry."_

_She opened her eyes again. Had they been closed the whole time? She thought she had opened them…_

_She looked up and screamed._

"Kate! Open your eyes! _KATE!_"

Kate snapped her eyes open and took a gasp of air. Her throat felt dry. She yanked her hands off the bed and was relieved to see they were no longer bound.

"Kate," a voice said and she searched for the source, feeling disoriented. Her eyes came across Seth who was crouching next to her bed, looking pale and reeking of alcohol.

"You had a nightmare," he said, slurring a little. Kate could only nod, not trusting her voice. Her body was trembling like she had just finished a marathon.

"You were screaming so loud I thought someone was murdering you," Seth continued and let out a nervous laugh. His face, however, got serious when he noticed Kate still had a hard time breathing normally.

"Hey. Try to relax. I'm right here. It was just a stupid nightmare, okay?"

"Y-yeah," she muttered and took a couple of deep breaths. Seth was right. It was just a stupid nightmare. Just like the ones she had had before, only this time it was much more realistic. And Richie had been there…

_Don't_ even go there, she said to herself and tried to concentrate on her surroundings. She looked at Seth and noticed he had a half eaten tortilla in his left hand. His right hand was resting on the bed, close to her thigh. Her _naked_ thigh.

"Oh, here's your blanket…" Seth said and picked up the fallen blanket from the floor next to him. Kate grabbed it awkwardly and tried to cover herself better.

"What time is it?" she asked and used the corner of the blanket to wipe sweat off her forehead.

"About 3 AM," Seth answered, twisting his left hand to get a better look at his watch, which made some of the tortilla fillings drop on the floor. "I just came back from the bar."

"Oh."

Seth noticed his tortilla was leaking and tried to lick the salsa off his wrist, but only managed to make a few jalapeños escape to the floor.

"Fuck this shit…" he mumbled and dropped the whole tortilla (or what was left of it) on the bedside table.

Kate giggled and earned a big smile from Seth.

"Hah, I made you happy!" he rejoiced, his voice proud like he just accomplished something impossible (which he kind of did).

"You really suck at eating tortillas," Kate sneered, making Seth's smile even wider.

"I like to devour the other kind of tortilla – if you catch my drift," he said smugly and winked at Kate.

"Eww!"

She punched him lightly on his shoulder, causing him to momentarily lose his balance and fall on his ass.

"Hey!" he yelped and struggled to get back up. Kate found herself laughing louder than she had for many days.

"It's not nice to punch drunk people. Didn't your mom teach you that much?" Seth mumbled after regaining his crouching position.

"_Your_ mom probably forgot to tell you it's not nice to rob banks," Kate remarked, smiling.

"She didn't particularly forbid it so we figured it was acceptable."

Seth winked at her again and she rolled her eyes. For a 30-something-year-old Seth was ridiculously immature, but she didn't really mind – at least he made her laugh. It was all she really needed right now.

She saw Seth yawning and her thoughts went back to sleeping. She was still tired, not having slept much because of the nightmare. She knew the worst thing she could do was be scared of going back to sleep, but she couldn't get that image out of her head…

"Hey, now that you're okay, I'm gonna go to bed," Seth said and stood up.

"No!" Kate cried out, startled to hear how afraid she sounded. She didn't want to be left alone, not now. Seth looked at her, questioning.

"I mean…" she continued, speaking more calmly. "Could you sleep here?"

"Uh," Seth replied, looking lost for a moment. "I guess I can. If you really want that."

"Yeah. Please."

"Okay, make room."

Seth waved his hands at Kate and she moved herself on the other side of the bed. Seth took off his jacket, threw it on the floor and slumped on the bed. Kate had underestimated the room he needed and realized the bed was way too narrow for the two of them to sleep comfortably. Seth, however, didn't seem to mind. He closed his eyes, put his hands behind his neck and crossed his ankles, sighing deeply like he had just gotten the opportunity to lie on the nicest bed in the whole world.

Kate turned on her side so that she was facing him. His breathing was already slowing down and he looked like he could fall asleep any second.

"Seth."

"Mm-hm."

"Do you really think Richie should have died?"

"He _is_ dead."

"You know that's not what I mean."

Seth sighed and turned his head to look at Kate.

"Do I think he should have died? No. Am I pleased with the current situation? No. There you have it."

"He's still your brother even though he's different."

"The way I see it, Richie betrayed me by choosing that snake bitch in the first place. The fact that he later decided to join our gang doesn't change that."

Seth just wasn't going to let it go. Kate knew it was difficult – after all she had been there herself. Except she didn't have her brother anymore.

"I would have never left Scott if I didn't have to," she said quietly. She would have given anything to get both her dad and Scott back. Seth still had his brother, and she knew Richie had always been the most important person in his life, so the way _she_ saw it, he had everything.

Seth sighed again and turned his face to look at the ceiling.

"Maybe I was a bit harsh with him…" he admitted. "He has always been a freak, but now he's like, on a whole other level of freakiness."

"He scares me sometimes."

"Yeah, me too."

"But he's not evil, right?"

"No."

Kate, too, turned to look at the ceiling, feeling much lighter. _He's not evil and you know it_.

_It was just a stupid dream._

"Can we sleep now?" Seth asked yawning.

"Yeah."

"Good. And just so you know – I might snore. Deal with it."

Then he was out, softly snoring away like an infant.

Kate turned on her side, her back facing Seth, and closed her eyes. Seth's steady snores and the warmth of his body were soon lulling her to sleep. Then she, too, zoned out.

Kate woke up to the feeling of someone watching her.

She opened her eyes slowly and blinked a couple of times, trying wake up properly. The first thing she noticed was that it was really bright in the room, meaning it was probably already late morning, _which_ meant she had actually managed to sleep the rest of the night uninterrupted. She then noticed she had moved closer to Seth during the night and was now practically lying _on_ him, her right arm wrapped around his waist. She lifted her gaze to look at his face and was relieved to find him still asleep, breathing steadily with his mouth slightly open. She carefully lifted her arm and moved away from him, trying not to shake the bed too much.

She turned on her other side and let out a startled yelp.

Richie was standing right next to the bed, staring down at her, an unreadable expression on his face. Her heart skipped a beat. How long had he been standing there?

She heard a sleepy mumble on the other side of the bed and she knew her cry had woken up Seth.

"Fuck, Kate, how long did we… Richard."

Kate turned to look at Seth, who was staring at his brother, who was staring at her. Then, without a word, Richie turned away and walked out of the room. Kate could hear him going to the other bedroom and closing the door softly after him.

"Well, good morning to you too, sunshine…" Seth mumbled under his breath and sat up in the bed. He let out a growl and grabbed his head with both hands. "Geez, I'll never drink tequila again."

Kate sat on the bed, not even bothering to cover herself, and stared after Richie, wondering if she should go after him. She suddenly felt guilty like she had been doing something she wasn't supposed to. But she had just been sleeping, right? There wasn't any reason for Richie to be mad at her.

Seth reached for his jacket on the floor and went through its pockets. He found his cigarettes and instantly lit one, sucking it eagerly. Kate frowned when the smoke reached her nose and tried to wave it away with her hand.

"You two should seriously quit smoking," she said.

"Drinking will kill me before I get cancer," Seth answered nonchalantly and blew a puff of smoke straight into Kate's face, making her cough.

"Well, then can you try not to give _me_ cancer?"

"Nope."

"Thanks, Seth."

Seth just laughed, got up from the bed and threw on his jacket, the cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth.

"I'm gonna go buy some new clothes. I fucking reek," he said between his teeth. "You wanna go with me?"

"You said you can't go outside…"

"They're looking for two white men, not one, duh. It's totally safe."

"Right." Kate rolled her eyes. She wasn't going to comment on Seth's illogical explanations. Besides, she also needed new clothes, and now she had permission to leave the house.

"I'll come with you," she said. "Can you just go outside while I get dressed?"

Seth raised his eyebrows, staring openly at Kate's body.

"Can't see why I should since I already saw everything, but whatever… I'll wait for you by the car."

He left the room and closed the door after him. Kate got up, went to the bathroom and did her morning routine (well, some of it, anyway, since the water was too dirty to get a proper wash up and she didn't have any make-up with her). She then dressed up in the white dress and walked to the hallway. She hesitated in front of the Richie's door, not sure if she should tell him they were going away.

She decided against it after figuring Richie was probably sleeping and wanted to be left alone. She could talk to him after they got back. So she opened the front door and stepped outside, closing the door quietly after her.

She walked up to the car that was parked in the shadow next to the reception. Seth was waiting for her, leaning on the car.

"Let's go," he said, and opened the car door for Kate.

**A/N: **Sheez, I'm sorry for making you wait. The next one won't take as long, I promise (and this time I mean it ). Again, I'm happy so many people seem to like this story! Stay tuned!


	5. Chapter 5: Camazotz

**Chapter 5: Camazotz**

Seth drove them to the town and parked the car next to the sidewalk. The people on the street were giving them weird looks, and Kate didn't know whether it was the black convertible (which kind of stood out from the rest of the cars in the town) that drew the attention, or the fact that Seth was still wearing a shirt that had bloody spots all over it. Kate got out of the car and noticed they were quite close to Pau's house. She reminded herself to ask Seth if it was okay if she went to meet her later.

They walked around the town and looked for a suitable shop to buy clothes. They came across a few clothing stores, but Seth only snorted at them and mumbled something about "amateur tailoring". He gave Kate fifty bucks, and she went to a nice-looking women's clothing shop, showed the owner the money she had and apologized she didn't have any pesos. A half an hour later she left the shop with a plastic bag full of clothes and underwear for a couple of weeks at least.

Meanwhile, Seth had finally found a decent tailor and told Kate to do "whatever the heck you want" while he was in the fitting. So she wandered around the town, window-shopping and occasionally visiting a shop that looked interesting. She walked by a fascinating little boutique that had a display window full of Mexican fabrics, decorative items and accessories. It made her think of Pau, and she decided to go buy something for her in return for the dress.

The boutique smelled stuffy and the air was hot and thick with dust. Heavy curtains blocked all of the daylight, and the only source of light came from wax candles, placed on practically every surface (Kate had to be extra careful not to set anything on fire). One wall of the shop was completely covered with old books, stacked both horizontally and vertically. It seemed impossible to just pick one book without making the whole collection collapse. Next to the bookshelf was a small table with a very old-fashioned cash register. Kate looked around but couldn't see any personnel whatsoever.

She continued examining the shop, touching every item very gently and avoiding anything that looked too fragile or expensive. There were small wooden statues, bracelets that had pearls made of bone, beautiful rings with shiny red stones, notebooks with leather covers…

And a wide collection of different amulets, hanging from a tree branch attached to the wall. She started instinctively looking for the amulet that had the ugly dogface, but they all seemed to have a simple design with a stone in the middle or some nicer animal, like a bird.

"_Encontró algo que le guste?_"

Kate flinched and almost dropped the bird amulet she was holding in her hand. She looked to her right and saw a short man with a huge moustache standing right next to her. Where had he come from?

"Eh, _no hablo español_," she said and quickly put the amulet back where she had taken it from.

"Ah, _una Americana_, yes? Do you find something you like?" the man asked and stared intensively straight into Kate's eyes. His eyes were _really_ brown, almost black. He was wearing a traditional Mexican poncho, and Kate was surprised to see he hadn't melted under it.

"Oh, everything is very nice," she hurried to say. "But I was wondering if you have an amulet like this but with a… dog?"

"_Un perro_? We not have that… Maybe you mean this, _un jaguar_?"

The man reached for the amulet that was hanging next to Kate's face and turned it around so she could look at it. It wasn't the one. There was a black feline's profile on it, with a pointy ear and a red stone as an eye – clearly a jaguar.

"This jaguar, it represents the strength in the Mayan culture. A very nice gift for a man maybe," the man said and smiled warmly at Kate. "A very powerful symbol, yes."

"It's pretty, but not the one I was looking for," Kate said apologetically and smiled back at him.

"I'm very sorry," he said, his smile faltering a little. "Maybe you find something else."

"Yeah, I'll keep looking around."

The man took a few steps back, still looking intensively at Kate, and then turned around quickly. He walked to the bookshelf and started dusting the books with a rag so dirty it probably made them even dustier.

Kate started to feel a bit awkward and decided to go look for a more… normal gift store. She looked around, trying to remember where the exit was, when something caught her eye. It was a wooden statue on a table next to the amulet branch. It was like a miniature totem with different kinds of animals, but it was the one on the top that got her attention. There was a tiny rat-looking animal with scaled wings folded around its small body.

It was a bat.

She took the totem in her hand and walked to the bookshelf.

"It was a bat, not a dog," she said, and showed the totem to the man. He turned to look at it and his expression became serious.

"We not have that as an amulet. Not a very nice gift to anyone, no," he said and continued to dust the books.

"Why? What does it mean?" Kate asked, starting to feel troubled.

"Why you want to know? We not have it," the man insisted and rubbed a book with the rag so fiercely the title in the back was already starting to fade away.

"Well, what if I want to buy this? I want to know what it means."

The man dropped the rag and turned to look at Kate again.

"Fine. The bat represents all the dark things. Night. Death. Hell. You never have it as an amulet. It brings very bad luck. Never carry it around your neck unless you want to be sacrificed to_ Camazotz_," the man said, his voice tense.

_Sacrificed. _The word gave her chills. She instantly thought about that night in the temple.

"What is that… Cama thing?" she asked.

"Enough questions. If you not buy anything, you can leave. _Adios_," the man snapped, picked up the rag and started dusting again.

Kate frowned. She would have accused the man of being superstitious if her recent experiences hadn't proved the things, that used to exist only in horror movies, were actually true. However, she couldn't believe Pau had a symbol that represented _death _hanging casually in her bathroom. Maybe she got it as a gift and didn't even know what it was. Kate made a mental note to ask Pau about the amulet later.

She returned the totem to its place next to the amulets and exited the boutique quickly. The sunlight outside almost blinded her and the rush of fresh air made her sigh deeply. After figuring Seth was probably done with the fitting and already waiting for her, she started back.

And indeed, Seth was there leaning on the car, smoking yet another cigarette. He spotted Kate and straightened up, and that's when she noticed the new suit.

"So, what do you think?" he asked and spread his arms so that she could have a better look.

Kate's jaw dropped.

Not only had Seth picked another black suit, but he also had a new burgundy red shirt and a matching tie. And it was not just an every-day suit, it was a suit you'd wear to a dinner at the White House.

"I look that good, huh?" Seth laughed, and Kate realized her mouth was still open. She closed it quickly.

"Eh, don't you think it's a bit… conspicuous?" she asked slowly. She thought Seth would have had enough sense in his head to get an outfit that was _not _in the APB, but apparently she had been too hopeful. Then again, she couldn't picture either of the Gecko brothers in a T-shirt and jeans.

"You mean _fabulous_? Look, I got one for Richie too." He pointed at a garment bag, hanging from the car's wing mirror. "You know, as an apology."

"Oh, that's good." It was nice Seth was actually making an effort to make amends with his brother – even if it was by buying outfits that practically prevented them from going incognito. It was the thought that counted, right?

"Did you get everything you needed?" Seth asked. He dropped his cigarette stump and threw the garment bag on the backseat of the car.

"Yeah, but I was wondering if I could go see Pau again."

"Fine. I'll go find us something to eat."

Kate left her shopping bag in the car and walked a couple of blocks to Pau's house. She climbed up the stairs and knocked on the door. She could hear someone walking inside and then the door was opened.

She was faced with a tall girl with long brown hair and brown eyes shaped like Pau's.

"_Sì_?" she asked and looked at Kate from head to toe, frowning. Her gaze lingered on the white dress.

"Hey. Hi. I'm looking for Paula. You're Marisol, right?" Kate uttered, not having prepared to meet anyone else besides Pau.

"_Mama_ is not at home," Marisol answered shortly and started closing the door.

"Wait!" Kate yelped. "Could you tell her I stopped by?"

"Who are you?"

"Kate."

"I will tell her."

Then Marisol shut the door, and Kate was left standing awkwardly on the porch. At least the girl had known some English, otherwise the situation could have been even more confusing, seeing how Kate was wearing _her _clothes.

Kate sighed and walked down the stairs, feeling disappointed. Talking with Pau had made her realize how much she missed conversations with her mom. It had never been quite the same with dad, and now that he was gone too… She was lost. Pau had been the first person she had talked to about his death, and it hadn't felt nearly as bad as she had anticipated. She knew suppressing her feelings would backfire at some point, but it was the only way to remain sane for now. That's why it had felt so good to speak with Pau.

She started walking back to the car, trying to swallow down her disappointment.

Seth was waiting for her, eating something from a brown paper bag. He looked up and noticed Kate.

"That was a short visit," he remarked.

"She wasn't at home."

"Too bad. Here, I got you something."

They ate their late lunch in a pleasant silence, enjoying the warmth of the early evening sun on their faces. After finishing the meal, they got inside the car and started back to the motel.

It was quiet in the condo when they got inside, and the door to the other bedroom was still closed. Seth looked at Kate and raised his eyebrows in a question. Kate shrugged.

"Richard?" Seth asked and knocked on the door. "You there?"

Kate heard a creaking sound and then steps coming closer. The door was opened slightly and a half of Richie's face appeared in the crack.

"What?" he asked, frowning, his voice still hoarse from sleeping. His right eye looked from Seth to Kate and back to Seth. A strand of dark hair was stuck on his forehead.

"Aww, quit moping! I brought you a present," Seth said, sounding cheerful. "And it's not a bag of blood, even though you sure look like you need it…"

"Seth," Kate warned.

"Okay, okay! Look, Richie, I know I've been a real asshole these past two days and I wanna make it up to you. I bought you a new suit, see?" Seth showed his brother the garment bag.

Richie looked at it briefly, his expression unchanging. Then his eye was on Kate and she felt like he was trying to drill a hole in her forehead with his stare. _Does he want me to apologize too? _Kate thought.

"Uh, it's a really nice suit," she said, not knowing what else to say.

"Damn right it is!" Seth exclaimed and shook the bag right in front of Richie's face.

Richie sighed and opened the door fully. He held out his hand and Seth gave him the bag.

"I knew you couldn't resist a good suit," Seth chuckled. "Right now you look like you ran away from the set of Twilight."

"Let it be the last time you make _that_ joke," Richie grunted, but Kate could see the corner of his mouth twitching like he was rebelling against a smile.

"Don't worry, I'm totally for Team Edward instead of that guy who looks like a llama and never wears a shirt."

"Just shut the fuck up already."

Kate burst into laughter. Seth was right – Richie _did_ look a bit like Edward Cullen, especially now that his hair was going back to its natural, curlier state. The annoyed frown on his face was like a cherry on top.

In another universe, in which there were no culebras or underground temples and both of Kate's parents were still alive, it would have been hard to imagine a situation where Kate could feel relaxed in the company of two men who had both ruined and saved her life. And right now she could only feel good being with the Gecko brothers. _Things could be much worse_, she thought, and wiped off a tear of laughter.

She watched Richie and Seth bickering with each other, and somehow she couldn't make herself feel sorry for herself anymore. She still blocked most of her feelings (she simply refused to think about her dad or Scott too much if not at all), but she had miraculously stopped blaming Richie and Seth even though they were the main reason for her misery. She couldn't recall when it happened – maybe it was right after they left Titty Twister, when Kate realized they were the only people she had left, or maybe it had just occurred to her, right then and there.

Kate was shaken from her thoughts when she heard Seth call her name.

"Sorry?" she asked, and Seth scoffed.

"I said we need to go out to celebrate."

"Celebrate what?"

"The fact that we're alive – excluding you, Richie – and being alive is good. Also, we need to take our new suits out. The Geckos are back."

Seth threw his arm around Richie's shoulders and beamed. Richie tensed, but seemed pleased by the fact that Seth was no longer picking a fight (which made Kate happy too).

"About time," she said, smiling.

**A/N: **Ooh, everything's suddenly all fine and dandy. Or is it just calm before the storm...


	6. Chapter 6: Bloody Mary

**Chapter 6: Bloody Mary**

Kate and Seth went outside to wait while Richie was changing into his new suit. Seth instantly lit a cigarette and blew smoke straight into Kate's disapproving face ("I can't decide which way the wind blows!"). The sun was sinking below the horizon, casting long shadows on the ground, and Kate could feel a gentle breeze on her legs. It had been late summer when dad, Scott and she had left home, and now the air carried a mild scent of the approaching autumn. Kate tried to imagine herself back at home, going back to school with her friends and living a boring yet secure life, but it all seemed so far away. She realized there was nothing for her left behind.

She wrapped her arms around her and sighed.

Seth was already lighting another cig, when the front door opened and Richie stepped outside. He instantly brought his hand before his eyes, squinting when the late rays of the sun hit his face. He had somehow managed to smooth his hair so that it looked like it used to – sleek and unnaturally shiny.

And the suit – well, Kate noticed she had a hard time taking her eyes off of it. It was similar to the one Seth was wearing, but somehow it was more enchanting on Richie. The contrast between the red and black in the suit and the paleness of Richie's skin emphasized his inhuman appearance even more, making him look anything but ordinary. The suit made Seth look just handsome, but his brother carried it in a way that was _compelling._

Kate felt her cheeks burn and quickly turned to look at Seth instead. He, too, was watching Richie, seeming pleased as if the new suit erased the fact his brother was still undead in his eyes.

"Shall we go?" Seth asked. "I know a good bar down there." He pointed to his right, away from the town.

"A bar?" Kate asked. She hadn't realized they were going to a _bar_ to celebrate, but now that she really thought about it – where else would a man like Seth Gecko go?

"Uhm, yeah, a bar. Did you think we'd sit here on the yard, sipping from our juice boxes?" Seth laughed. "No, we're gonna get _wasted_." He looked at his brother as if to get a confirmation from him, but Richie was busy staring at the moon peeking from behind a purple cloud, seeming oddly satisfied like he was greeting an old friend. He had a dreamy look on his face.

"Well, you and me, anyway," Seth continued, turning to look at Kate.

"I don't know…" she said slowly, not feeling too confident. She was still seventeen, and her parents had always taught her that bars were for drinking alcohol, and drinking alcohol was never a good thing. "Dad said–"

"Kate, hun," Seth interrupted. "Daddy is not here."

Kate frowned. Just because she was alone didn't mean it was wise to do anything that came to her head. Then again, she _was_ almost eighteen. And they were in Mexico – it was not like anyone cared if she went to a bar or not. She shrugged, making Seth grin.

"Let's go then!"

He started walking, and Kate and Richie followed. He threw his arm around Richie's shoulders, and the brothers started chatting together as if nothing had happened between them. Kate let them walk before her so she could only see their backs without hearing much of the conversation, but they both seemed to be in a relatively good mood.

After walking for a while, Kate was able to see a group of small houses not far away from the motel. One of them was clearly a bar of some sort – it had a bright pink neon sign that illuminated the ground in front of it. When they came closer, she could make out the words on the sign. _La Derrota_, she thought, and wondered what it meant.

There were people outside smoking, most of them middle-aged men. Kate felt their stares as they walked by, and she had a weird feeling in the bottom of her stomach, as if she had just walked into something she wasn't prepared for. She took a couple of longer strides to keep up with Richie and Seth. The three of them went inside.

The bar was already crowded even though the hour was still early. Most customers were men, but there were also pretty Mexican women, leaning on the bar and looking at men in a seductive way. Some of them were wearing _really s_kimpy outfits, and the men were obviously enjoying the attention they were receiving, occasionally putting a hand on a woman's waist. The air was smoky and smelled like cigars and beer. Kate already regretted wearing the dress Pau gave her – it would probably smell like smoke and booze the next day.

Seth headed straight to the bar and Richie followed him. Kate looked around for a moment, trying to see if there were any seats available. She turned around and accidentally bumped into someone.

"Sorry," she excused herself, and thought it was maybe better if she stayed with the Geckos.

She hurried after them to the bar, and arrived just in time to see Seth take a shot of tequila. Richie was standing next to him, looking like an overly attached bodyguard.

"Hey, Kate!" Seth yelled and beckoned her to come closer. She squeezed through the people, trying to make herself as small as she could. (Richie kindly swatted away someone's hand that tried to grab her behind.) She found her place tight between the brothers (a bit closer to Richie than she would have liked), and Seth offered her a shot glass.

"Drink," he commanded.

"What is it?" she asked, eyeing the glass suspiciously.

"What do you think it is? Water?" Seth remarked, rolling his eyes.

"I don't wanna drink it."

Kate had never drunk anything strong, only a few beers and some wine at a family dinner. And now Seth was offering her _booze_. She knew it was not going to end well if she drank it.

"Aww, c'mon, Kate. It will make you feel better!" Seth encouraged.

"She doesn't have to drink if she doesn't want to," Richie put in. His voice was sounding right next to Kate's ear and she fought against the urge to turn around and face him.

"Who are you, her mom?" Seth looked sharply at his brother and let out a barky laughter.

"Just give it to me," Kate said and took the glass. She wasn't a child anymore. She didn't need to act like one. And what did it matter if she drank one shot? Maybe it would indeed make her feel better. Maybe it would make her forget.

She raised the glass to her lips and downed the drink. It burned instantly in her throat and made her cough a couple of times. Seth only laughed and asked the bartender to give him another shot.

Kate wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and tried to stay very still to see if she felt any different. She could feel the coldness radiating from Richie and turned her head to look at him. He was staring down at her, an unreadable expression on his face (it had really become his trademark).

"You can't drink anything, can you?" Kate asked him. He shook his head.

"I didn't drink much anyway when… I could," he said. Standing so close to him made Kate feel tense, but she decided to ignore it.

"Seth sure likes to drink," she said lightly, and nodded at Seth who was taking yet another shot of tequila. (Apparently he tipped the bartender well because he was served more often than the other customers.)

"His head has always been clearer than mine. He needs it to go away from time to time," Richie said. There was something melancholic in his words, like he was reminiscing about something that happened a long time ago. Kate thought about what he said and knew it was probably true. She had never quite figured out Richie. He had been strange even before he was turned, like he always knew something no one else did. But at the same time it seemed like he couldn't sort out himself. He was a puzzle that had too many corner pieces.

Kate noticed her thoughts were wandering, and she had a hard time remembering what they had been just talking about. She felt a tug on her sleeve and turned around. Seth was offering her a bigger glass this time, filled with something red.

"Drink this, you'll like it more than tequila."

"What is it?"

"Bloody Mary."

Kate took the glass, brought it to her lips, and tasted the drink. Sure, it was better than tequila but still quite horrid. Kate drank some of it anyway just so that Seth would stop giving her more. Seth looked pleased and took a sip of his own drink.

It was getting cramped in the bar and Kate was having trouble with people constantly bumping into her. Richie's frown deepened every time someone got too close, but Seth didn't seem to mind – he was currently eyeing a young woman who was deliberately leaning on the bar so that her body was displayed in the most appealing angle. He had a look of concentration on his face as he poured another shot of tequila and then wiped his mouth clean with the back of his hand. Kate caught his gaze for a second, and he raised his eyebrows.

Kate got the hint.

"You wanna find a more peaceful place?" she asked Richie. He nodded.

They walked through the people, Richie parting the way for them (for some reason everyone seemed to avoid him). They found a less crowded place by a dance floor that was occupied by a drunken couple swaying slowly to a Mexican ballad. Kate sat on a creaky chair and put her drink on an even creakier table before her, hoping it wouldn't fall over. Richie sat next to her and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

"How come you can s_moke_ but not drink?" Kate asked. Richie shrugged and lit a cig.

"I mean, you don't even _breathe_, do you?"

Richie sighed and turned to look at her.

"I don't know why I can smoke. I just can, okay?" he answered, and blew a puff of smoke into the air.

"Okay."

Kate took a sip of her red drink. Her whole body was already starting to feel funny, like she had ants running under her skin. Her cheeks were flushed too, but she enjoyed the sensation – it made her feel all hot and giddy. She took a look at Richie, who was staring at the couple on the dance floor. The cigarette was glowing between his right and middle finger, a small trail of smoke slithering up and dissolving to the smog above his head. She traced his profile with her gaze, stopping at his lips.

Her thoughts went back to the kiss. She had been trying to reassure herself not to think about it, trying to make it seem more like a hazy delusion more than a real memory, but now… Everything reminded her of that moment; the smell of cigarettes, the red lights coming from the bar illuminating Richie's face, and _that_ feeling in the bottom of her stomach. It was difficult to not think about it.

She wanted to know _why._

"Richie."

Her voice was surprisingly steady (or maybe it just sounded like that to her own ears). Richie's posture tensed and he turned to face Kate, his eyes appearing almost black when they found hers. His face was entirely expressionless.

"Why did you kiss me?" she blurted, shocked by her own her bluntness. Richie, however, didn't seem surprised by the question, his face remaining blank.

"There's something inside you," Richie said in a low voice. His eyes moved to stare at Kate's lips and the distance between them felt a lot shorter all of a sudden.

"What do you mean?" she asked, and noticed she had been holding her breath.

"It's hard to explain," Richie answered, quickly raising his gaze to meet Kate's. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I was just–"

"_There _you are!"

Seth had materialized next to them out of nowhere. He was with the woman he had been eyeing in the bar, holding her by the waist. The woman looked from Kate to Richie and smiled at them, revealing a set of straight yet yellowish teeth.

"I wondered where you went," Seth continued, smirking. "Last time you two disappeared together, you ended up–"

Richie stumped his cigarette and stood up.

"I need to do something," he mumbled, and stormed off before any of them had time to say anything.

Seth stared after his brother.

"What's his problem?" he asked Kate. She didn't say anything, just stared after Richie until his back disappeared into the crowd. Her skin was tingling and her head felt funny as if it was filled with cotton. She glared at Seth who had yet again managed to disturb their conversation. Talking with Richie was difficult as it was, but Seth made it impossible.

"Geez," Seth sighed and rolled his eyes, completely missing Kate's glare. The woman whispered something in his ear and his expression turned sly.

"Hey, we're gonna hit the dance floor. You're fine here by yourself, right?" he said, but didn't even wait for Kate to answer. He put his hand on the giggling woman's butt and they headed down to the dance floor, leaving Kate to sit by herself.

She watched as Seth danced with the woman, resting his hands on the small of her back and occasionally whispering something in her ear. Kate felt an urgent need to go someplace else.

She gulped down the rest of the nasty drink, stood up, and started walking away from the show Seth and the woman were putting on. She went past the bar, swaying a little as she walked, and looked around, trying to find the restrooms, when someone grabbed her arm.

And that's when everything started to go wrong.

**A/N:** If anyone here listens to Kavinsky, you'll probably notice a small part I stole from Nightcall. :) And sorry about the cliffhanger, I had to cut one BIG chapter into two smaller ones.


	7. Chapter 7: Detachment

**Chapter 7: Detachment**

"_Hola, chica_," a voice said right next to her ear, and she turned around, alarmed. A tall, heavily built man was ogling down at her. His hairless, shiny head and thick neck were covered in tattoos and his warm breath reeked of beer. Kate tried to yank herself free, but the man's grip was an iron band, each finger like a handcuff around her bare arm. He pulled her against his body and sank his other hand in her hair.

"Let me go," Kate said sternly, but it felt like all the strength in her body was gone. Her head was spinning, and the noises coming from the bar sounded distant and distorted, as if she had been underwater. The man had her cornered in a nook between the bar and the restrooms, and Kate realized she was practically invisible to the people going past them.

"What you do here alone, hmm?" the man murmured in her ear, and Kate could feel his hand sliding down on her neck, then along her back, and finally on her thigh, groping freely. She turned her head so that the man's nasty breath couldn't reach her nostrils.

"I'm not alone," she whispered, almost to herself. She knew now was probably the time to open her mouth and scream from the top of her lungs, but it was like she was looking at herself from a distance, having no control over her own body. The man seemed to get even more excited by her resistance, his breathing quickening. He released Kate's arm and used both hands to lift her skirt up, letting out a satisfied groan. Kate felt bile rise in her throat.

And then suddenly there was a loud sound of flesh hitting flesh. The man let out a surprised "oof," and then he was gone. Kate stumbled a little and opened her eyes (not realizing she had closed them), looking around cautiously. The feeling of relief was soon replaced with dread when she saw why the man had disappeared so quickly.

He had been thrown to the floor, right in the middle of the bar, and Richie was on top of him, holding his chest down with his knee. Both of his hands were around the man's neck, choking him so hard his face was turning red.

The bar had suddenly become dead silent – even the music had been turned off – and everyone had turned to look at the scene.

Kate was the first one to react.

"Richie!" she screamed, and rushed to him. She grabbed him by the back of his jacket, trying to pull him off of the man, but only managed to get hit in the face by his elbow.

"Fuck!" she cursed and brought her hand to her face. She felt something wet on her jaw and carefully prodded her lower lip with her tongue, tasting blood.

And just like that, as if deciding that it was no longer a fair fight, two men emerged from the crowd and attacked Richie, yelling something in Spanish. Richie turned to the other man and Kate could see a flash of yellow in his eyes. He literally _growled_ at the men, and they backed off, exchanging scared looks. Richie then turned back to the man on the floor and continued choking him. Kate could see the man had already stopped struggling.

_No_, she thought, and even though her jaw hurt like hell and all she wanted to do was run away from the bar, from Richie, from e_verything_, she knew she had to do something _right now._ So she emptied her whole head and concentrated on one, simple thought (_"Stop it now, Richie, please._"), knowing that if Richie read her thoughts like he always did, he would be able to hear her pleading. She repeated it in her head like a mantra – over and over again – gritting her teeth together and _praying_.

Richie stopped.

He turned his head to look at Kate, still pushing the man down on the floor, and his eyes got wide.

"Kate," he breathed, looking startled as if he had just realized what he had been doing.

The people around them seemed to determine this was the time to strike again, and they moved closer to Richie. He seemed to get what was going on and quickly got up, moving with an inhuman speed. He ran to Kate, took her by her arm, and dragged her to the exit so fast that the crowd had no time to react.

And then they were outside. Richie was half-carrying, half-dragging Kate, and they continued like that until they were a safe distance away from the bar. Richie looked around, squinting his eyes, clearly trying to find a place for them to hide. They had been running away from the motel, and Kate knew it wasn't possible to go back there without passing _La Derrota_.

"There," Richie said and took Kate's hand. It was so dark Kate couldn't really see much, so she let Richie lead them to a group of trucks parked next to a warehouse in the middle of the desert. They found shelter in between two trucks, and finally stopped there. Kate took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. The adrenaline in her blood had dissipated the remains of alcohol, making her body feel numb. Her heart was thumping in her chest irregularly, and the coldness of the night air was creeping up to her, making the hairs on her arms stand up. She registered the sound of rustling near her, and was finally snapped out of her daze when Richie wrapped his jacket around her trembling shoulders.

"Kate, I'm sorry."

Kate lifted her gaze and locked eyes with Richie, who was standing before her, a sorrowful look on his face. It was weird to actually see him displaying an emotion.

"Does it hurt?" Richie continued, his eyes scanning Kate's face. _What the hell is he talking about,_ Kate thought, and was reminded by the ache in her jaw right away. She lifted her hand to her lips and winced. It was going to bruise. Badly. Richie gently pulled her hand away and replaced it with his own, cupping her jaw with his cold fingers. Kate sighed when she felt the pain easing a little. She was almost starting to feel good again, the warmth coming back to her body and Richie's hand slowly caressing her jaw, when the images of what happened in the bar came flashing back.

"Richie, that man…!" she gasped, her eyes growing big.

"Don't worry, I didn't kill him," Richie said calmly.

Kate stared at him.

"What? '_Don't worry_'?! How can you even–" she stammered. "You were _choking _him! And everyone _saw _it."

She took a step back, making Richie's hand fall to his side.

"They saw_ you,"_ she whispered with a sinking feeling in her stomach.

Richie just looked at her, a dark expression on his face.

"What are we gonna do now…" Kate muttered helplessly, and then she realized something else. "S_eth…!_"

Richie tried to take her hand again, as if to make sure she wasn't going to start running back to the bar, but she stepped back.

"Don't," she snapped.

"Look, Kate, he's probably back at the motel by now. We should go there too and–"

"It's not about that, Richie!" Kate almost yelled. "Do you have any idea what you've done? Do you think the people are just gonna forget about it? Do you think they're not gonna try to find out who did it? And when they do, do you think they won't try to look for you?" She was talking fast, making herself, too, realize how many things had gone wrong that night.

Richie didn't seem too shaken by the cold facts. In fact, he was standing there calmly as if Kate had just been talking about the weather.

"I know what I did and I don't care. They won't get me. I'm not mortal anymore," he said matter-of-factly, lacing his voice with something that almost sounded like boasting.

It was like someone had poured cold water on Kate.

"You're so… so fucking _selfish_!" she screamed and punched Richie in the chest. Richie quickly caught her by her wrist, seizing her.

"Me? _Selfish_? You ought to be grateful I saved you from him," he said through his teeth, looking almost angry now.

"I don't need you to _save_ me, Richie. Not by almost _killing_ someone," Kate shot back. She used her other hand to try to pry Richie's fingers from around her wrist.

"Don't be ridiculous, you'd be raped by now if it wasn't for me," Richie said coldly, and tightened his grip.

"Let go of me!"

"No!"

"Let me go or–"

Kate was silenced by Richie's hand clasped tightly over her mouth. She let out a muffled scream, but stopped when she noticed Richie had tensed. He was clearly listening to something.

"Shut up, Kate," he whispered, unnecessarily. "Someone is coming."

Blood was rushing in Kate's ears so loudly she couldn't hear anything, but she stopped struggling against Richie. Then they just stood there, waiting.

Soon enough, Kate could hear the sound of approaching steps, too. It sounded like it was only one person, but she couldn't be sure. Richie finally let go of her and turned around, his eyes scanning the darkness around them.

The steps were coming closer and closer to their hiding spot until they stopped at the gap between the two trucks. Kate couldn't see that far, but she _did_ notice Richie had suddenly relaxed.

"What the fuck, Richard?" the familiar voice of Seth Gecko demanded, and Kate let out the shaky breath she had been holding. Seth marched up to them (Kate had never been so happy to see him) and instantly punched his brother in the face.

"Seth!" Kate gasped, and stepped in between the two brothers before Seth had time to strike again.

Richie, however, seemed unaffected by the punch, and moved swiftly behind Kate and out of Seth's range.

"Seth, calm down," he said. Kate took a quick look at him and noticed the small bruise under his left eye was already disappearing.

"Can't you be fucking normal even for a day?" Seth raged, but didn't try to get closer to Richie again, having probably realized it was futile to try to harm him physically. "You almost killed that guy! He probably got fucking brain damage!"

"He got what he deserved," Richie answered with a cold voice. "He was touching Kate."

Seth let out a barky laugh.

"You're a fucking hypocrite."

"She's only seventeen."

"It's not like _you _cared about that either."

"You're the one to talk."

"_What the hell are you talking about?"_ Seth was sounding exasperated.

"You should know. You slept with her," Richie said venomously.

Kate's jaw would have dropped if it didn't hurt so much.

"Richie, we weren't doing anything!" she put in, but Richie wasn't listening. He was too busy gritting his teeth at his brother, who instead looked almost amused.

"Oh right, sorry 'bout that. Didn't know she was your fucking _property_," Seth snickered, and Kate could have punched him.

"Seth–" she started, but he wasn't done yet.

"Yeah, why wouldn't she sleep with _me_. After all, I'm not the one _knocking her teeth out_, isn't that right, Kate?"

"It was an accident, Seth, he didn't mean to–" Kate stopped mid-sentence, not really knowing whose side she was taking anymore. It was true that Richie had managed to mess up pretty much everything that night, but Seth was being unreasonable, bringing up things that never happened. Besides, they were both talking over her like she wasn't even there. It was getting too confusing.

"Fuck you," Richie growled at Seth, who just laughed.

"Whatever, I'm done with you anyway," he said, starting to take his leave.

"Where are you going?" Kate hurried to ask, alarmed.

"Away from you two," Seth said over his shoulder, already walking away.

Richie made no move to stop him, and Kate looked helplessly at Seth's loitering back. She knew she should go with him _now_ and leave Richie behind. It wasn't safe to be with him, not anymore (had it ever been?), but her mouth didn't open and the word_ wait _died on her lips, and she knew she had made her choice. _You're stupid, Kate Fuller, _a voice in her head said. It sounded a lot like Scott.

Soon it was impossible to see or hear Seth anymore, and Kate became aware of the situation she had been left in. She refused to look at Richie who was standing behind her, not making a sound. His jacket weighed down on her shoulders, and Kate would have thrown it to the ground if she wasn't sure she'd freeze to death without it.

"Kate." Richie's voice sounded _so _annoying that Kate decided to ignore it. She turned around and walked past him, not saying a word. She could hear him following right after her, and was glad to see he wasn't stupid enough to try to walk by her side.

It was probably only past midnight, and it was so dark Kate couldn't really see where she was going, but she didn't care. She kept walking and apparently she had taken the right direction, because after what felt like three hours, she was able to see the motel in the distance. When she came closer, she noticed the car was gone. She wasn't surprised.

She walked inside (the door was left unlocked, how nice of Seth) and straight into her room. She turned around and saw Richie standing in the hallway. Trying to look for even a small amount of remorse, Kate gazed into his eyes, but found them empty as ever, like two blue pools of nothingness.

"I hope you're happy now," she said, and closed the door.

**A/N: **Oh the drama.


	8. Chapter 8: Thirst

**Chapter 8: Thirst **

Richie stared at the closed door.

He knew he had mucked things up this time. Seth had left, and Kate was angry with him. He wasn't so worried about his brother – in fact, he was almost happy he had managed to piss him off so badly, he had taken the car and left to God-knows-where. Seth had really crossed the line this time, but knowing him, he would be back soon enough. He had left many times before, swearing he'd never come back, but he always did. Seth needed him just like he needed Seth, Richie had made sure of it their whole lives. He had even gone so far as to kill their father to make sure _no one _stood between them. Getting into a small fight about a girl was nothing.

Speaking of girls. Richie sure didn't know what went through Kate's head. He had thought she'd be smothering him with gratefulness after what he did for her, but no, she was _mad_ and _hurt_ like Richie had been the one molesting her in the bar. She should have been happy Richie even went that far to protect her – it wasn't like she had been giving him much reason to do it. When he had found her in the same bed with his brother, he had thought it was some sort of game they were playing. Seth had done that before; he had seen something Richie _really _wanted – whether it was a toy or a pretty girl in their school – and had taken it for himself instead. After seeing Seth break most of _Richie's_ new toys and taking _Richie's _crush out to movies, Richie had decided it was no use crying – Seth would have just made him hurt more.

So Richie had let it go. But then Kate had asked about the kiss – hell, she had even looked like she was going to kiss him again – and he knew the game only had one player. When Seth had brought the woman to their table, interrupting yet another conversation with Kate, Richie could feel the anger starting to boil inside him. And then that fat, ugly piece of shit had put his hands on Kate. Needless to say, he had lost it. He wasn't going to feel bad about it, no matter what Kate said. The bastard deserved to die. If only he'd had enough time to choke the fucker long enough…

Richie was shaken out of his thoughts when he felt pain in his palms. He looked down at his hands and noticed he had been clenching them into fists so hard his nails had left angry red streaks on the skin. He watched curiously as the cuts healed and disappeared, leaving no marks behind.

He cast one last look at the bedroom door, turned around, and went outside. He didn't bother locking the door, knowing he'd be close enough to the motel to make it back fast enough if something happened to Kate. The happenings at the bar had left him thirsty and he needed to find someone to drain. Last night, he had slaughtered a stranded dog, not really feeling satisfied after drinking its blood, but he had been too tired to chase after a human.

Besides, he had kind of promised Kate he wouldn't kill anyone. Anyone from the human race, that was.

Richie looked around in the yard, trying to decide which way to take. What he really wanted to do was to go back to the bar and try to find the fucker who had been stupid enough to touch Kate. He'd enjoy killing him, slowly, and afterwards drain his fat corpse. But then again, he had no desire to touch that shithead with his mouth. The thought alone made him shudder.

So he decided to head into town instead. Maybe he'd find a drunken person whose disappearance wouldn't cause any hassle. Or he could kill another dog – just to please Kate.

Richie didn't hurry on the way to the town. He had discovered he could run faster than a car, but moving that fast wore him out. At first he had been scared of his new powers, but he had learnt to quite enjoy them. He had always been different, the voices in his head bothering him ever since he was a little kid, but now he actually had something – something that no one else had – that made him not only different but very powerful too. He was finally being feared, and not because he occasionally blacked out and came back to his senses blabbering something about demons in his head. Too bad it came with a downside; he had scared Kate for the first time. He had had a _gun_ pointed at her head without making her blink, but now just standing next to her made her nervous like she expected him to reveal his teeth and bite her in the neck. He would have to find a way to gain her trust again.

Suddenly Richie saw movement from the corner of his left eye and turned around. He squinted his eyes and was able to make out a pair of yellow eyes about fifty feet away from him. A coyote. It was snuffling the ground next to a small henhouse, tensing its furry back and preparing to strike. Richie smiled. Apparently he wasn't the only one getting late night takeaway.

The coyote took a leap, ready to jump over the fence surrounding the henhouse, but it was caught mid-air. It let out a pitiful cry when Richie grabbed it by its neck and twisted, causing a sickening crunch of broken bones.

Richie sat on the ground and sank his teeth into the animal's flesh. The blood was warm and sticky, and he made sure no drop was spilled. He didn't want to get his new suit ruined. He drank until there was no blood left in the coyote and tossed the carcass to the ground next to the henhouse. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stood up. Drinking from animals didn't quite satisfy his blood-thirst – it was like eating a really uninspiring school lunch – but it kept him content until the next night.

The thirst for blood was one of the unpleasant side effects of being a culebra, but Richie didn't mind it that much. The thought that someone had drunk from him was more disturbing.

Santanico.

Richie's life had been a constant battle between rationalities and irrationalities, and his last rational decision had been the one he had made just before he left with Kate and Seth. He had already been in the car with Santanico, ready to start a new, immortal life with her, when something had made him look, _really look_, into her eyes. And suddenly it was like he had fallen in an endless pit, his life as a human passing through her eyes and her demonic voice in his head, demanding him to _set her free._

And then he knew he had already done it, he had set her free, and she no longer had use for him. It was that thought – the thought of being useless just when he knew he was never going to be useless _again_ – that made him step out of the car and run to Seth, who was just starting their black convertible. Ignoring Santanico's screams, he had gotten inside the car and commanded Seth to _drive, drive, drive_, away from the woman who he had thought he loved only to realize there had never been love between them, only obsession.

Richie still didn't despise her – not really. But he wasn't going to let the woman boss him around, not now when he was _living _more than ever before. He knew it was impossible to kill her now, no matter how self-assured Seth had been about it, but there had to be another way to get rid of her. He had no idea what it was, but he was sure the voices in his head would guide him when the time was right.

With a stomach full of blood, Richie decided he'd leave the manhunt to another night and started back to the motel. Besides, it was already dawn so he wouldn't have had that much time to find another victim anyway. He had to be careful not to walk around during daytime – Kate had been right, the people in the town would probably try to look for him. He was ready to change the scenery, but without a car it would be a bit difficult. So it was better to keep a low profile.

He walked up to the motel and to their condo, went inside, and locked the door behind him. He hesitated beside Kate's door, wondering if he should check on her or not. He sensed she was still in the room, sleeping, but he had a sudden urge to actually see her. So he opened the door quietly and stepped inside.

Kate was indeed resting, curled in a small ball. She was using Richie's jacket as a blanket (he didn't know what to make of that). Her back was facing the window so Richie moved carefully to the other side of the room to get a look at her face. She had washed the blood off her face, but it did nothing to improve her looks. Her jaw and lower lip were swollen and the skin around her mouth had turned into an ugly combination of red, purple and yellow. Richie cursed silently. _Look what you did to her, you stupid fuck. Is this how you're gonna gain her trust, Richie? _

"Shut up," he whispered. "Shut the fuck up."

Kate stirred a little, making Richie freeze, but she didn't wake up.

He looked at her more closely now, going through every single detail about her from her long brown hair (it looked silky to touch) to her fingernails (she had been biting them). It was so weird to just stand there next to something so pure and beautiful without someone trying to take it from him. He could easily just reach out to her and touch her delicate skin, or stroke her hair, or _do anything he wanted._ But of course he wouldn't do that. He might have been a monster, but he knew his limits.

And Kate was very much off limits.

Ever since that day at the pool, Richie had been drawn to her. He saw inside her, and she knew it, and s_till _she wanted to talk to him. She had even flirted a little. Richie could remember how _good _she looked, all wet and innocent and _young_, but also full of dark secrets. To him, people never had secrets. People were made of glass that you could easily see through. Most of the time he saw disturbing things, things that carried evil voices inside them, whispering to him and telling him nasty lies. But Kate – her secrets were dark, but they were also surrounded with good intentions. Richie saw straight into her heart where she had a painful spot for her mother. He never usually told people what he saw. People rarely wanted to know the truth, even when it had been with them all along. Kate was different.

Of course, he had to be careful. He couldn't let a girl become an obstacle in their plan. And he had been betrayed often enough to be reserved. Besides, Santanico had been calling him even then, beckoning him to come closer, and he had wanted _her_ more than anyone else in his life. Sure, he had kissed Kate at Titty Twister, but his head had been clouded with voices (even more than usual) and the moment had passed before he had time to actually realize what he was doing. And after that, things had happened fast; Santanico had showed her true self, he had been shot and brought back to life, and meanwhile Kate had managed to lose the remains of her family. The next time he saw her, she was somehow different, more vulnerable, and the glass walls around her secrets had turned blurry.

Then they had escaped. Kate had looked afraid around him. Seth had made her laugh. Seth had slept with her in the same bed. Seth had seen the kiss, so he knew Kate was important to Richie, so of course _he _had to have her.

But Richie had been wrong about that, for once. Seth had left, and Richie was alone now with Kate. It was almost too good to be true.

Kate stirred again and this time her eyes opened. _Shit_, Richie thought.

"Richie?" Kate mumbled sleepily.

"Yeah?" Richie said hesitantly. Kate's eyes closed and opened again, and she buried herself deeper under the jacket.

"I dreamt that Seth left," she slurred, and Richie knew she wasn't really awake.

"It wasn't a dream, he really left," he said quietly, not really knowing what else to say.

"He did?"

"Yeah."

Kate yawned and her eyes closed again.

"Are you gonna leave too, Richie?" she said, her voice sounding muffled against the pillow.

"No."

"Good. I don't want you to leave."

Then she was out again.

If there had still been blood in Richie's veins, he knew his heart would have been pumping a bit faster.

**A/N: **Sorry about making you wait (again). I've been a little under the weather lately... I hope you enjoyed this chapter, though. I loved writing from Richie's point of view.


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